In a society where the assertion “time is money” has become more fact than fiction, efficiency and punctuality have developed into highly valued assets in many industries. In the transportation and shipping industry, for example, efficiency and punctuality are defining qualities that often set successful companies apart from those that fail. Particularly, greater efficiency and punctuality may lower transportation and shipping costs, which may, in turn, reduce costs to potential clients and attract a larger customer base.
One aspect of transportation and shipping that may impact the cost and punctuality of deliveries is the need to refuel transportation vehicles. For instance, many packages and goods are delivered using trucks that often travel long distances between pick-up and delivery. Since a truck or vehicle's fuel tank is of a limited size, drivers need to occasionally break from the transportation route to refuel. Refueling time may vary greatly depending on a variety of factors including required processing time for a fuel sale and/or transaction. Typically, a driver of a transportation vehicle must enter a refueling station, park the vehicle, enter authorization and/or payment information for the transaction and wait for approval before starting to refuel. In other words, delays may be caused by communication and processing time of transaction information at a point of sale. In many instances, these aforementioned processes may take significant amounts of time thereby delaying delivery of goods and potentially increasing shipping costs. Delays in the shipping process may further have negative impacts on the recruitment of drivers as drivers might not want to spend significant amounts of time refueling and obtaining other various services. Further, in many instances, data entered by drivers might only be stored without true validation.
In some current systems, drivers are issued a card from a carrier with which they are to make transactions such as refueling, showering, purchasing food and the like. However, these cards are generally of the magnetic strip variety which can be subject to high failure rates (e.g., due to damage, wear, etc.). Moreover, the card may include a general purchase policy that might not be specific to a driver or truck. Accordingly, some drivers may take advantage of this by attempting to sell fuel or the like. Further, since the transaction card might not be tied to a specific vehicle or driver, there is the possibility of other vehicles and drivers using the card in an unauthorized manner.
Additionally, during breaks, drivers of trucks and other transportation vehicles may wish to eat a meal or take a shower. Beyond the time required to perform these tasks, drivers may need to first purchase the meals and/or services. For example, a driver may have to spend time purchasing shower time and/or access from a refueling station agent. As such, this purchasing time may further add to the delays and costs associated with shipping and delivery. Again, the delays and, in some instances, increased costs may be attributable to the time required to process transaction information in order to complete the transaction.
Still further, a driver may be required to manage documentation and information provided, received and/or generated during the processing of a sales transaction. For example, a driver may receive receipts relating to the sales of the fuel, services and/or goods. As such, drivers may often forget or lose the numerous amounts of information and documentation produced during a lengthy transportation route.